"You are the average of the 5 people you associate with the most"

"You are the average of the 5 people you associate with the most"-Jim Rohn

Who you associate with can have a large impact on who or what you become.

When I was growing up I wanted to be an all star wide receiver like my idol Jerry Rice. Well I can tell you today that I am not the next Jerry Rice but who I am today has been shaped by what I have learned along the way.

Some of you are like what the heck does this have to do with your quote. I will tell you. While I was growing up I did not have a lot of friends because I was home schooled until my sophmore year of high school. When I did get to school I was the kind of kid who was easily influenced by kids around me who I thought were cool. I started trying to be just like everyone else and turned out to be like everyone else because that is what I aspired to be. What I should have been doing was trying to emulate the best athletes that I aspired to be like. I should have studied what kind of workouts they did and how long they practiced. I should have also studied THE PLAYBOOK. I didn't do any of these things. I was a great athlete but I didn't know the plays or formations. When I actually comitted to working out every day one summer I didn't work very hard and talked to the other guys on my team. This all led to me being the same as every other player. I lacked the drive and determination to be the next Jerry Rice. I became the average of the 5 people I associated with the most.

When I arrived at college I did the same thing that I had always done. Don't get me wrong I had and have great friends but I never made the effort to aspire to be more while I was growing up. I was to preoccupied with going to awesome parties and making people like me.

After college I moved to Virginia for a job at George Mason University. It wasn't until I moved to virginia and started thinking a lot about what I wanted out of life that I truly found my purpose. I started to care more about helping people and giving good advice. I also met a lot of great people who helped me see the world differently. They taught me to read books by thought leaders like Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins, Stephen Covey, Napoleon Hill, Brian Tracy and many more. When you start learning about real knowledge you become a different person, it changes you.

At that moment you have 2 choices stay where you are or become something more. I knew at that moment I had to choose to write out my goals and start planning out my future. I made a choice to pursue my dreams of owning a personal training business right there. How was I able to do this? I started to seek out those people who aspired to be like. If you want to be average there are plenty of people who are average and will help you stay where you are. If you want to be extraordinary seek out those who are where you want to be and emulate them.

If you are seeking to be more than average you should:

• Start reading books on whatever it is that interests you.
• Most importantly is take action and start today
• Read books on how to set goals
• Read motivational books
• Get a mentor or study those who are or do what you want to do or have the knowledge that you seek
• Always be willing to learn
• Don't judge others until you know them
• Give (whether it is your time, money, or information)
• Start hanging out with people who are going to continue to challenge you to improve

Today I ask questions and I seek out the wise advice of people who are where I want to be.

You have it in your power to improve the quality of your life and become whatever you want to be.

Dedicated to helping you become your best self,

Ben Myslenski